Dear 2018-2019 6th grade parents and students,

We are so excited to work with our new TEAM 6TH GRADE.  It has been a restful, exciting Summer and we are ready to have fun with our new class. 

Now let's get working!!!

We are posting some helpful videos for each student's household and each student to watch and learn how to set up, login and use your Edmodo and Infinite Campus tools.  There are about 20 minutes of  Youtube videos to listen, watch and learn about these helpful tools.

We expect all parents to use these videos as a tutorial for these tools.  We will post messages, grades and assignments with these tools.  We do not send individual emails to parents for whole class correspondence.  If you choose to message us individually on our emails, we will respond in a timely fashion.  Please send any messages about changes to your child's after school schedule through the front office as we are teaching class and sometimes are too busy to see an email that needs an immediate response.

Students will be required to listen, watch and learn from the Edmodo and Infinite Campus tools as they will be tested a short while after school begins this semester.  We 6th grade teachers love our pop quizzes.

Here are the links for Edmodo.

Parent Tutorial:

https://youtu.be/iWaqgTk4Mbs

Student Tutorial:

https://youtu.be/v8l5SAtXBBs

Please note that you will find the Infinite Campus link on this blog or on the Vision Charter School website.  You will need to contact Crystal Brown for a username and password to gain access to Infinite Campus.

https://youtu.be/Uf4MwozHqBA

For the weeks of May 1st - 25th

Hello all!   Can you believe how fast this year has blown by?  The kids and I were reminiscing the other day during advisory how much they have learned, achieved and grown in the past few months.  We also were having a great discussion on advice they could have given their younger 5th grade selves to prepare for middle school.  I was truly blown away on how insightful they were. 

It is also important to help remind your kiddos that school isn't done yet.  They have the opportunity to boost their grades, if needed or maintain what they have worked hard for.  Keep checking Edmodo and Infinite Campus for assignments.  We can do this :)

 Here is what you can expect:

Monday, May 7th 
ELA Comprehensive ISAT

Wednesday, May 9th
Math Performance Task ISAT


Friday,  May 11th
No School

Monday, May 14th
Math Comprehensive ISAT

Friday, May 18th

CARNIVAL AND SCIENCE FAIR:

COME JOIN THE FUN!!! All MATH CARNIVAL games are FREE and will be available to play from 4-6:30PM.  Kindergarten through fifth grade Science Fair & Art Gallery will be open from 3:30-6:30 PM.Dinner will be sold in the gym from 3:30-6:30PM while supplies last. Dinner will be $5 and includes hot dog, chips, and a soda. Cotton Candy will be $3 and sold on the field by the bounce house for $3. All raffle tickets will be sold for $1 in the gym. Must be present in the gym from 6:30-7PM to win the raffle. The Silent Auction will close at 6:45PM and parents can stop in the gym and pay for/pick up their items at 6:45PM. Three amazing Rock Bands from the Vision Charter School Rock Band class will perform in the gym from 5:15-6:30PM. Seating for eating dinner and watching the Rock Bands perform will be available in the gym. Alternate seating will be available outside.

CARNIVAL SILENT AUCTION & RAFFLE:

We will be holding a silent auction and raffle during the Carnival. Stop by the gym to purchase $1 raffle tickets or bid on a silent auction items! All funds raised from the silent auction and raffle items will go towards purchasing bleachers for the gymnasium! If you have services or goods that you would like to donate for the silent auction or raffle, please email shereeboothby@visioncsd.org and let her know what you will be donating. If you have a car, four wheeler, etc. that you would like to donate for the auction, feel free to contact Sheree Boothby so we can start advertising! WE WOULD LOVE TO AUCTION SOMETHING BIG for & have the funds go towards the phase 3 building project which will include the new gymnasium and increased parking.

DONATE DESSERTS TO RAISE MONEY FOR BLEACHERS-

Would you like to be able to better see your kids during music and drama programs? Are you looking forward to attending basketball and volleyball games this upcoming year and having a place to sit and cheer them on where you can see your children! Help us purchase new bleachers by donating cakes, cupcakes, or a pie for the Carnival silent auction and raffle! Email shereeboothby@visioncsd.org and let her know what you will be dropping off for the carnival or just drop it off! All donations need to be dropped off to the office by 10a.m. on May 18^th and preferably by 4p.m. on May 17^th. 

K-11TH STUDENT AWARDS CEREMONY FRIDAY MAY, 25^th

Kindergarten through Fifth grade teachers will notify you if your child is receiving an award at the last day of school assembly. Sixth through eleventh grade parents will be notified via email if their child will be receiving an award. If you haven’t updated your email in Parent Portal, please do so immediately.  Awards times are as follows:

8:20-9: 6^th-8^th,   9:00 - 9:45 9^th -11^th,   9:45- 10:30  k, 1st, 2nd,  and 11:30-12:15 3rd, 4th, 5^th.   Sack lunch picnics will be at the regular lunch time. 

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL RELEASE:
Kindergarten and first grade will be released at 1:35. Please do not show up early unless you have a kindergartener or first grader. Second through fifth grade will be released at 1:40. Sixth through eleventh will be released at 1:45. It takes every class five minutes to get from their classroom out to the buses and the pick-up area. Buses will depart at 1:50. Supervision will be provided through 2:30PM. Secondary students like to chat the last day. Give them time and come pick them up closer to 2:10 PM.  It is SUPER helpful for the smooth operations of the school on the last day of school to have your child go home their regular way. If you must change their go home route the last day of school, send an email to crystalbrown@visioncsd.org and the student’s teacher before 1:15 on the last day and ensure you get a confirmation email back and/or call 208-455-9220 before 1:15.

STUDENT GOVERNMENT LAST DAY LUAU:

Who: Grades 6-11

What: Student government is hosting the Last Day Luau. There will be inflatables (some with water elements), food, Tie-Dye Station, Capture the Flag, Kickball, Whiffle Ball, Games, Music & more!

When: Friday, May 25^th from 10:30 am-1:30 pm (ALL STUDENT CLEAN-UP from 1:30-1:45) Students will be dismissed at 1:45 pm.

Where: Vision Charter Soccer Field

If participating in water elements, students need to bring towels and a change of clothing. For swimsuits, boys must wear shirts, girls may wear 1-piece bathing suits, shirts must be worn if wearing two-piece suits.

Students may bring lawn chairs (IF NOT RIDING A BUS). Flip-flops are OK for the Luau. Bring your own sunscreen, water bottle and lunch. Students must bring their own white t-shirts for the tie-dye station.

REFRESHMENTS! - Snow Cones will be available for $3.00. The Junior Class will be selling pizza for $2.00. The Sophomore class will be selling soda for $1.00.

Here are some pics from recent class happenings:

Learning about finances in Junior Achievement

Middle School Swim Boot Camp

Reporting on Earthquakes in Science

Creating Data Sets with Oreos in Math

Building Earthquake Proof Structures in Science

Cupcakes, Frosting and Fondant in Home Ec

Thumbs up for Reading Centers

Ms. Dowski and her Therapy Dog come for a visit

Banner for the Dodge Ball Socal

We are cool like that

Math Actors Theater

Calculating Density

For the week of April 23rd - 26th

Hello all!  It is hard to believe we are nearing the end of the year.  It also means testing time.  Here are a few tips to help your student achieve their personal best:

Test Taking Tips for Parents & Students Preparing a student for a Testing Session – For Parents 
1. Make sure your child gets an ample, normal amount of sleep the night before the test
2. Mark testing days on your calendar to help remind you and your child when the testing will take place and plan your preparations.
3. The student should eat a nutritious and filling breakfast. Avoid high sugar cereals which can make the student hyper and/or unfocused.
4. Make sure the student is on time (if not early) on the day of testing
5. Set a backup alarm to avoid the possibility of oversleeping
6. If you child is sick please contact the school immediately to inform them

Test Taking Tips for Students 
General 
1. Be aware of the test time limits. Keep track of how much time you have remaining and try not to spend too much time on items that you are unsure of, as you can always come back to them once you have completed the items you do know.
2. Answer the easy questions first and then move on to more difficult items.
3. Answer all questions, even if do not know the answer
4. Use all of the time allotted to you. If you have extra time cover you answers and try reworking the questions.

Math 
1.On math problems try estimating the problem before calculating (ex. make 32 X 21 into 30 X 20), as this will help you notice if your calculations are far off your estimate.
2. Perform opposite operations. For example if your problem involves multiplication check your work by dividing in reverse.

Multiple Choice 
1. Anticipate the answer before looking at your answer options. Physically cover the answer with your hand to see if you can answer it first.
2. Eliminate highly implausible answers (most multiple choice tests will have at least two “distracter” items that are unrelated to the questions).
3. Be aware of words like “always,” “never,” “only,” “must,” and “completely.” Response options containing these words may be correct, but are usually distracters as their will usually be exceptions to extreme words such as these.
4. Be cautious about changing your answer to a multiple choice question without a good reason. Usually, your first “guess” or intuition is more likely to be correct than later ones.
5. Although not always true, as a general rule of thumb the items that contain the most information tend to be correct.
6. If one of the items is an “All of the Above” option and you know that at least one of the other options is incorrect/false then you can eliminate the “All of the Above” option as well.

Our test dates are as follows:

Thursday, April 26th 8:30-11

Monday. May 7th 8:30 - 11

Wednesday, May 9th 8:30 - 11

Monday, May 14th 8:30 - 11